Measuring identification with the mothering role

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Maternal Health
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Assessing maternal psychological adjustment is crucial for prenatal and postnatal care.
• Existing instruments may not fully capture the nuances of early maternal bonding and fetal perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate three new scales: Feelings of Motherliness (FOM), Conception of the Fetus as a Person (CFP), and Appropriateness of Fantasies about the Baby-to-be (AFB).
• To evaluate the psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, of these newly developed scales.

Main Methods:

• Construction of three summated rating scales: FOM, CFP, and AFB.
• Data collection from 169 women, with 34 used for final scale testing.
• Reliability assessed using coefficient alphas; validity examined through content, concept, criterion, and construct measures.

Main Results:

• High internal consistency (coefficient alphas) for FOM (.87) and CFP (.89), and acceptable for AFB (.67).
• Concept validity supported for FOM and CFP, but not for AFB.
• Convergent validity was supported, but discriminant validity was not established.
• Criterion validity using the Parental Attitude Research Instrument subscales was not established.

Conclusions:

• The Feelings of Motherliness (FOM) and Conception of the Fetus as a Person (CFP) scales demonstrate initial promise for measuring maternal attitudes.
• The Appropriateness of Fantasies about the Baby-to-be (AFB) scale requires further modification and validation.
• Additional research is needed to refine these instruments and confirm their utility in diverse populations.